LINCOLN, Neb. – Nebraska lawmakers on Wednesday approved a bill that will allow the state’s credit unions to sponsor saving lotteries that offer financial prizes as incentives to save, one of five states considering such bills.
“By linking savings with prizes, we believe more Nebraskans will choose to save and develop a habit of saving that will provide them financial security and peace of mind going forward,” said Scott Sullivan, president of the Nebraska CU League, which lobbied for the bill.
“Our goal is to have a program up and running at participating credit unions in January of 2012,” said Sullivan.
The Nebraska lottery would be modeled after Michigan’s “Save to Win” contest, a $100,000 grand-prize drawing that attracted more than $9 million in new savings to 40 participating credit unions.
Lawmakers in Washington, North Carolina and Rhode Island are debating similar bills, while lawmakers in Iowa defeated a savings lottery bill last week.
